On [a date in October], the Central Committee of the RCP(b) discussed the question of subordinating all party workers to the decisions of the central organs. In connection with this, Y. M. Sverdlov sent a telegram on the same day to Stalin, Voroshilov, and Minin in Tsaritsyn: "All decisions of the Revolutionary Military Council are binding upon the Military Soviets of the fronts. Without subordination there is no unified army. Without suspending the execution of a decision, one may appeal it to a higher organ — the Council of People's Commissars or the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, in the extreme case — the Central Committee. We earnestly propose that the decisions of the Revolutionary Military Council be carried out in practice... There must be no conflicts" (Y. M. Sverdlov. Selected Works, vol. 3, Moscow, 1960, p. 28).

The conflict that arose in the Revolutionary Military Council had an extremely negative effect on the fighting capacity of the Southern Front, whose position in the autumn of 1918 was exceptionally grave. Trotsky, as Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, instead of rapidly settling the conflict on the basis of the norms of mutual relations adopted in the party, repeatedly permitted himself to be rude and extremely disloyal toward the Tsaritsyn workers. In connection with this, Stalin, Minin, and Voroshilov sent a telegram to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Central Committee of the party: "The conversation with Trotsky was very brief, deliberately insulting, and logically incomprehensible. The conversation was cut short by Trotsky..." (Central Party Archive of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the Central Committee of the CPSU).

Lenin's recommendations were not fulfilled by Trotsky.

In order to correct the situation, a new Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front was formed, consisting of the front commander P. P. Sytin and council members K. A. Mekhonoshin and B. V. Legran.

On October 19, I. V. Stalin left for Moscow. After a conversation with him, V. I. Lenin wrote the telegram being published here.

On January 1, 1919, the Central Committee of the party and the Council of Defense adopted a decision on the appointment of I. V. Stalin and F. Z. Dzerzhinsky to the party investigation commission to clarify the causes of the surrender of Perm.

In connection with this, I. V. Stalin left for the Eastern Front.

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**2** S. K. Minin — from 1917 onward occupied a leadership position in Tsaritsyn. During the Civil War he was a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the 10th Army, a member of the collegium of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs.

**3** P. P. Sytin — general of the old army who went over to the side of Soviet power after the October Revolution. In 1918 he was commander of the Southern Front, chief of the military-administrative department of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic.

K. A. Mekhonoshin — in 1918 a member of the All-Russian collegium for the formation of the Red Army, subsequently a member of the Revolutionary Military Councils of the Eastern, Southern, and Caucasian Fronts, and a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic.

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**NOTE TO A. S. ENUKIDZE**

November 4, 1918

Comrade Enukidze,

I request that you issue a guest pass to the bearer of this note, Comrade Vorontsov, for the right to attend the sessions of the VI Congress of Soviets.

V. Lenin

**LENIN MISCELLANY**

**1** A. S. Enukidze in 1918—1922 was a member of the Presidium and secretary of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

**2** Information about Vorontsov could not be found.

**3** The VI All-Russian Congress of Soviets opened on November 6, 1918.

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**TELEGRAM TO I. I. VATSETIS AND L. D. TROTSKY**

November 9, 1918

Kozlov, Arzamas

Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic

Commander-in-Chief Vatsetis, Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council Trotsky

We propose the appointment of Comrade Mosey Lvovich Rukhimovich as commissar of supplies under the chief of supplies Martynov.

Sverdlov spoke to Vatsetis about this a long time ago.

If this has not been carried out, then why.

Lenin

**1** The entire text, including the word "Rukhimovich," was written by I. V. Stalin. M. L. Rukhimovich at the time of the October Revolution was chairman of the Kharkov revolutionary committee, an active participant in the Civil War.

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**NOTE TO V. D. BONCH-BRUEVICH**

[November 1918, after the 10th]

Dear V. D.!

I am sending you the proofs and supplement II (I will send its conclusion tomorrow).

Do not forget to order tomorrow that all proofs from the beginning of the pamphlet be sent to me.

Regards! Get well!

Your Lenin

**1** This concerns V. I. Lenin's pamphlet "The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky" (see V. I. Lenin. Complete Collected Works, vol. 37, pp. 235—338).